Chuck is the author of the published novels: Blackbirds, Mockingbird, Under the Empyrean Sky, Blue Blazes, Double Dead, Bait Dog,Dinocalypse Now, Beyond Dinocalypse and Gods & Monsters: Unclean Spirits. He also the author of the soon-to-be-published novels: The Cormorant, Blightborn (Heartland Book #2), Heartland Book #3, Dinocalypse Forever, Frack You, and The Hellsblood Bride. Also coming soon is his compilation book of writing advice from this very blog: The Kick-Ass Writer, coming from Writers Digest.

He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is an alum of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter’s Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, showed at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producers Ted Hope and Anne Carey. Together they co-wrote the digital transmedia drama Collapsus, which was nominated for an International Digital Emmy and a Games 4 Change award.

Chuck has contributed over two million words to the game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP). He was a frequent contributor to The Escapist, writing about games and pop culture.

Much of his writing advice has been collected in various writing- and storytelling-related e-books.

He currently lives in the forests of Pennsyltucky with wife, two dogs, and tiny human.

He is likely drunk and untrustworthy. This blog is NSFW and probably NSFL.

Chuck Wendig is a novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. This is his blog. He talks a lot about writing. And food. And pop culture. And his kid. He uses lots of naughty language. NSFW. Probably NSFL. Be advised.

Jason Isaacs as a detective who loses his wife and/or his son in a car accident -- every night he goes to sleep and wakes up in a reality where one or the other survived. But it wasn't the premise that sold me. The promos revealed a thoughtful, mature show that possessed a gimmick but did not rely upon it.

Anyway, point being, I'm a bit late to the game here, but Sweet Jeebus, Portlandia is some funny shit. I'm not particularly aware of Portland culture, but it matters little -- the show walks this bizarre line where it first puts hipster culture on a pedestal and then pelts it with Pabst Blue Ribbon cans until it falls off and breaks. If you don't have IFC, Portlandia still streams on Netflix.

Listen, I don't blame them for canceling the show. I don't. The show suffered criminally low ratings. Nobody really... watched the program. Hell, I didn't watch it from the beginning. We grabbed about six episodes for the plane trips on our vacation, and found ourselves in love with the show. A show that was drifting lazily toward cancellation.

You know where I am at 9PM on a Friday night? I'm not out sassing it up with the ladies. I'm not drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon with a tangle of hipsters. I'm not snortling blow from inside a hooker's uterus. I'm watching the fuck out of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel.

Even the best television shows have episodes that are real stinkers -- clunky junkers that don't really feel right. But, for every shitpile episode, you also get those episodes that are truly gilded -- they sit high atop a hill overlooking all of the Empire, serving as a gleaming example to what television can truly aspire.

Okay. It’s that time again, kiddies. Another look at HBO’s The Wire. I’m kicking the classroom door wide open. Here’s some dialogue between the two detectives, McNulty (white dude) and Bunk (black fella). They have great rapport. This dialogue is interesting — I don’t know that it needs much context. You maybe could know that McNulty is always putting himself in the political cross-hairs by trying to actually be a good cop (“good police”). What’s fascinating to me is that I don’t really know what’s going on in this scene.... Read The Rest →